well the weather here in the bay area has been crappy, but i took the stook into work anyway. going to a meeting i was waiting at a traffic light. when it turned green just took off at a low speed, shifted up to 2 then to 3 @ about 3500 rpm, then i went over these metal plates on the road (there was some roadwork going on). and the back literally swung out. i was doing about 35 to 40, only about 1000 miles on the stook. i was surprised. basically took the foot off the gas and straightened the nose again.... i figure probably one tire was on the plate and the other wasn't, so the differential couldn't compensate for the total difference in grip (with the rain and all). this got me thinking.... what is the best thing to do when you start fishtailing? i have never had a rear wheel drive car before this one.....

 

Be very carefull! You now have a car which can lose traction from stepping on the gas. The rear-end differential is a LSD (limited-slip-differential); but it still can break lose, especially when you - effectively - have one wheel on a pane of glass (wet steel).

Take a course in car control from Skip Barber or the like. It's only about $700 and well worth the money.

 

Best thing you can do is be very smooth with the wheel as well as throttle. No jerky/violent inputs on either 'cos it'll only make it worse. The problem with a fishtail is that you're trying to steer into the slide (obviously) but what you're really doing in propagating the pendulum effect which usually stops only when the car spins.

So what you need to do is hold even throttle and gently try and turn into the slide (though never tourn more than straight ahead) ... in theory you should be able to get out of the 'fishtail' by pointing the wheel straight and transfering a little bit of weight onto the rear wheels.

Though, most important thing is this - if you get yourself into a fishtail (not a slide) then you've already messed up. Fishtailing means that you've really upset the car. Thefore, best thing to do is not get into fishtail ... not always possible but still by far the best thing to do :-)

 

a wet parking lot with no poles would be a good place to learn the aspects of driving the S2K in the wet and see how it responds to the throttle/steering inputs. I havent pushed the car as hard as I had pushed my Vette, but I do know the S2000 is not as forgiving as the Vette was. The biggest thing to do is be smooth... that can't be emphasized enough.

 

Shouldn't you also be turning where you wanna go?? That's what I've heard..I figure it be best for me to fly down to wherever Skip Barber is and take the course because I think the schools up here are a joke..

 

I'd probably wonder what kind of fish it was and how I got in there...

But seriously, countersteer is the way to go. Best places to "practice" are the local autocross or driving school, second best is a wide, wet, paved area.

Smoothness in steering, throttle, and brake application is paramount to avoiding fishtails and general badness. Most of the time gently lifting off the gas, or a small steering correction will remedy the situation, as it did in this case. But slippery things do happen, and if you ever feel the rear end REALLY start to come around, get that countersteer cranked in FAST, or you'll lose it completely. The last piece, especially counterintuitive when you're used to FWD, is that applying the throttle can, at times, help you regain composure.

Problem is, if you have to think about any of these things, it'll already be too late. Hit the track a couple/few times, and it'll become second nature. Ought to be a requirement with this car.

Cheers,
Jason

 

Generally skip barber is considered a joke. If you're going to travel to attend a school, there are many many better.

 

Stay on gas. Do not let go or press brake. In high speed, the car will snap the other way and into the wall or sidewalk. I agree to get some skidpad clinic or some driving school. There, you will learn throttle oversteer and brake oversteer. Learn it and oversteer will be a lot of fun.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mikey
[B]...Generally skip barber is considered a joke.

 

Play Sega Rally II, or Test Drive: V-Rally. You'll be the master of oversteer drift.

Actually, you just countersteer. If the rear breaks to the right, you look and steer to the right. Keep your eyes in the direction you want to go, even if that's behind you.

Keep in mind that it doesn't take much to correct the oversteer. The most common error is to overcompensate.

That is, if the back breaks right, you steer too far to the right, and then the back breaks really hard and fast left. Just be smooth with your countersteering.

[Edited by Sunchild on 01-24-2001 at 07:40 AM]